CN105144805A

CN105144805A - Uplink control information transmissions/receptions in wireless networks

Info

Publication number: CN105144805A
Application number: CN201480013741.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 南映瀚; A.帕帕萨克拉里奥; B-L.恩格; 张建中
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2013-01-10
Filing date: 2014-01-10
Publication date: 2015-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2034-01-10
Also published as: CN109889316A; EP2944132B1; AU2014205832A1; KR102169612B1; KR20190000908A; EP2944132A4; CN109889316B; JP2021007270A; EP2944132A1; EP3493606B1; JP2019083539A; AU2018200795A1; EP3493606A1; AU2018200795B2; CN105144805B; USRE50147E1; AU2018200795B9; JP6788970B2; US9876620B2; KR20150106398A

Abstract

A method and apparatus provide user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of carrier aggregation (CA) groups with at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2). The UE includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the UE is power-limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledged information in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a cell of the CGI and uplink control information (UC1), other than the acknowledgement information, in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to a cell of the CG2. The processing circuitry is also configured to, responsive to the UE being power-limited, prioritize the PUSCH for power allocation. The processing circuitry is also configured to transmit the PUSCH to the cell of the CG1.

Description

Transmission/reception of uplink control information in wireless network

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to selecting physical uplink channels and, more particularly, to prioritizing power allocation for physical uplink channels.

Background

The physical uplink control channel procedure is discussed in release 10 of the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, as described in release 10 of the 3GPP technical specification, release 36.213, version 10.1.0, "physical layer procedure". Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission and reception has been considered for LTE-advanced as a way to improve coverage for high data rates, improve cell-edge throughput, and increase system throughput.

PUCCH transmissions for two Carrier Groups (CGs) are independently configured, so a User Equipment (UE) may be scheduled to transmit two Physical Uplink Control Channels (PUCCHs) for two Uplink (UL) primary cells in two CGs in a subframe.

Disclosure of Invention

In an embodiment, an apparatus provides a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG 2). The UE includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information to a cell of CG1 in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and to transmit Uplink Control Information (UCI) other than the acknowledgement information to a cell of CG2 in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The processing circuitry is further configured to prioritize power allocation for the PUSCH in response to the UE being power limited. The processing circuitry is further configured to transmit the PUSCH to a cell of CG 1.

In an embodiment, an apparatus provides a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG 2). The UE includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information to a cell of CG1 in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and to transmit Uplink Control Information (UCI) other than the acknowledgement information to a cell of CG2 in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The processing circuitry is further configured to determine a larger of the first payload and the second payload in response to the UE being power limited. The processing circuitry is further configured to prioritize power allocation for the first PUSCH or PUCCH or the second PUSCH or PUCCH conveying the larger payload. The processing circuitry is further configured to transmit the prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

In an embodiment, an apparatus provides a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG 2). The UE includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit first Uplink Control Information (UCI) to a cell of CG1 in a first Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and to transmit second UCI to a cell of CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH. The processing circuitry is further configured to determine whether the first UCI or the second UCI includes more UCI types in response to the UE being power limited, wherein the UCI types include acknowledgement information, channel quality information, and scheduling request information. The processing circuitry is further configured to prioritize power allocation for a first PUSCH or PUCCH or a second PUSCH or PUCCH including more CUI types. The processing circuitry is further configured to transmit the prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

In an embodiment, in a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The process determines whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information to the cell of CG1 in PUSCH and to transmit Uplink Control Information (UCI) other than the acknowledgement information to the cell of CG2 in PUCCH. The process prioritizes PUSCH for power allocation in response to the UE being power limited. The process sends the PUSCH to the cell of CG 2.

In an embodiment, in a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The process determines whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to send acknowledgement information with a first payload to the CG1 in a first PUSCH or PUCCH and to send acknowledgement information with a second payload to the CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH. The process determines a larger payload of the first payload and the second payload in response to the UE being power limited. The process prioritizes power allocation for a first PUSCH or PUCCH or a second PUSCH or PUCCH transmitting a larger payload. The procedure transmits the prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

In an embodiment, in a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The process determines whether the UE is power limited. The UE is scheduled to transmit first Uplink Control Information (UCI) to the CG1 in a first PUSCH or PUCCH and to transmit second UCI to the CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH. The process, in response to the UE being power limited, determines whether the first UCI or the second UCI includes more UCI types, wherein the UCI types include acknowledgement information, channel quality information, and scheduling request information. The procedure preferentially performs power allocation on a first PUSCH or PUCCH or a second PUSCH or PUCCH including more UCI types. The procedure transmits the prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

Before the following detailed description is described, it is advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term "or" is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases "associated with … …" and "associated therewith" and derivatives may mean including, included within, interconnected with … …, inclusive, included within, connected to or connected with … …, coupled to or coupled with … …, communicable with … …, cooperative with … …, interlaced (interleave), parallel (juxtapose), proximate to …, bound to or bound with … …, having … properties, and the like; and the term "controller" refers to any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers represent like parts:

fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless network in accordance with this disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example high-level diagrams of a wireless transmit path and a wireless receive path according to this disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user device in accordance with this disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates an example deployment scenario of a small cell and a macro cell 404 in accordance with this disclosure;

fig. 5A and 5B illustrate an example quasi-cell (quasi-cell), a New Carrier Type (NCT) cell, and a backward compatible cell according to the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the quasi-cell is co-channel deployed (co-channel-deployed) with the cell on a carrier (or carrier frequency);

fig. 6A-6D illustrate an example inter-eNB CA and CoMP system according to the present disclosure;

7A-7B illustrate a Primary CA Group (PCG) and a Secondary CA Group (SCG) in accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is an example process for collision handling when multiple PUCCHs are scheduled in a subframe according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 9 is an example process for collision handling when multiple PUCCHs are scheduled in a subframe according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 10 is an example process of an overall CG prioritization rule for UCI transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11 is an example process of an overall CG prioritization rule for UCI transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 12A-12B illustrate an example process of rule-based priority handling for duplexing scheme/frame structure types according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 through 12B, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in a limiting sense. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged method and apparatus.

For convenience of description, the following abbreviations used in this patent document are defined

● enhanced node B

● UE ═ user equipment

● CA ═ carrier aggregation

● CoMP (coordinated multipoint)

● UL (uplink)

● DL (downlink)

● PDSCH (physical Downlink shared channel)

● PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel)

● PUCCH (physical uplink control channel)

● PDCCH (physical Downlink control channel)

● ePDCCH (enhanced PDCCH)

● RS ═ reference signal

● CSI-RS ═ channel state information reference signal

● CRS (cell specific reference signal)

● DMRS-demodulation reference signal

● HARQ ═ hybrid automatic repeat request

● ACK response signal

● DCI (Downlink control information)

● TPC (Transmit Power control)

● PCell ═ primary serving cell

● SCell ═ secondary serving cell

● RRC ═ radio resource control (layer)

● TM ═ transmission mode

● SR (scheduling request)

● QoS-QoS

The following documents and standard descriptions are incorporated into this disclosure as if fully set forth herein:

● refer to 13GPPTS36.211v10.5.0, "E-UTRA, Physicalchanneland modulation (E-UTRA, physical channel and modulation)";

● refer to 2-3GPPTS 36.21210.5.0, "E-UTRA, Multiplexing and Channelcoding (E-UTRA, multiplex and channel coding)";

● refer to 3-3GPPTS36.213v10.5.0, "E-UTRA, physical layer procedures (E-UTRA, physical layer procedures)"; and

● refer to 4-draft 3GPPTR36.932v0.1.0, "Scenario and Requirements for Small cell enhancement for E-UTRA and E-UTRAN" for example.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 in accordance with this disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, wireless network 100 includes evolved node b (eNB)101, eNB102, and eNB 103. The eNB101 communicates with the eNB102 and the eNB 103. The eNB101 also communicates with an Internet Protocol (IP) network 130, such as the internet, a private IP network, or other data network.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 in accordance with this disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network 100 shown in fig. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of wireless network 100 may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1, wireless network 100 includes evolved node b (eNB)101, eNB102, and eNB 103. The eNB101 communicates with the eNB102 and the eNB 103. The eNB101 also communicates with at least one Internet Protocol (IP) network 130, such as the internet, a private IP network, or other data network.

eNB102 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 for a first plurality of User Equipments (UEs) within coverage area 120 of eNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes UE111, which may be located in a small enterprise (SB); a UE112 that may be located in enterprise (E); UE113, which may be located in a WiFi Hotspot (HS); a UE114 that may be located in a first residence (R); a UE115 that may be located in a second residence (R); and a UE116, which may be a mobile device (M) such as a cellular phone, wireless portable computer, wireless PDA, or the like. eNB103 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within coverage area 125 of eNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes UE115 and UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of the eNBs 101-103 may communicate with each other or with UEs 111-116 using 5G, LTE-A, WiMAX, or other advanced wireless communication technologies.

Other well-known terms may be used instead of "evolved node B" or "eNB," such as "base station" or "access point," depending on the network type. For convenience, the term "evolved node B" or "eNB" is used in this patent document to refer to a network infrastructure component that provides wireless access to remote terminals. Also, other well-known terms may be used in place of "user equipment" or "UE," such as "mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," or "user equipment," depending on the network type. For convenience, the term "user equipment" or "UE" is used in this patent document to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses an eNB, whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile phone or smart phone) or a generally recognized stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vending machine).

The dashed lines illustrate the approximate extent of coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown as approximately circular for purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with an eNB, such as coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending on the configuration of the eNB and variations in the wireless environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

As described in more detail below, one or more of enbs 101-103 comprise processing circuitry configured to receive UCI on a prioritized PUxCH. The UE is power limited, where the UE is scheduled to send Uplink Control Information (UCI) to the CG1 on one or more physical uplink channels (PUxCH). The UE prioritizes PUxCH in response to its power being limited.

Although fig. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network 100, various changes may be made to fig. 1. For example, wireless network 100 may include any number of enbs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Likewise, the eNB101 may communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide these UEs with wireless broadband access to the network 130. Similarly, each eNB102-103 may communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide the UEs direct wireless broadband access to network 130. Further, the enbs 101, 102 and/or 103 may provide access to other or additional external networks, such as an external telephone network or other types of data networks.

Fig. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless transmit and wireless receive paths according to the present disclosure. In the following description, transmit path 200 may be described as being implemented in an eNB (such as eNB102), while receive path 250 may be described as being implemented in a UE (such as UE 116). However, it will be understood that the receive path 250 may be implemented in an eNB, while the transmit path 200 may be implemented in a UE. In some embodiments, transmit path 200 and receive path 250 are configured to receive UCI on a prioritized PUxCH. The UE is power limited, where the UE is scheduled to send Uplink Control Information (UCI) to the CG1 on one or more physical uplink channels (PUxCH). The UE prioritizes PUxCH in response to being power limited.

The transmit path 200 includes a channel coding and modulation block 205, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 210, an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) block of size N215, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 220, an add cyclic prefix block 225, and an up-converter (UC) 230. Receive path 250 includes a down-converter (DC)255, a remove cyclic prefix block 260, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 265, a size N Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) block 270, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 275, and a channel decode and demodulation block 280.

In transmit path 200, a channel coding and modulation block 205 receives a set of information bits, applies coding (e.g., Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits (e.g., using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)) to produce a sequence of frequency domain modulation symbols. The serial-to-parallel block 210 converts (such as demultiplexes) the serial modulation symbols into parallel data to produce N parallel symbol streams, where N is the IFFT/FFT size used in the eNB102 and UE 116. IFFT block 215 of size N performs IFFT operations on the N parallel symbol streams to produce a time domain output signal. Parallel-to-serial block 220 converts (such as multiplexes) the parallel time domain output symbols from size N IFFT block 215 to produce a serial time domain signal. Add cyclic prefix block 225 inserts a cyclic prefix to the time domain signal. Upconverter 230 modulates (such as upconverts) the output of add cyclic prefix block 225 to an RF frequency for transmission over a wireless channel. The signal may also be filtered in baseband before being converted to RF frequencies.

The RF signal transmitted from the eNB102 arrives at the UE116 after passing through the wireless channel, and the inverse of those performed at the eNB102 is performed at the UE 116. Downconverter 255 downconverts the received signal to baseband frequency and remove cyclic prefix block 260 removes the cyclic prefix to produce a serial time-domain baseband signal. Serial-to-parallel block 265 converts the time-domain baseband signal to parallel time-domain signals. An FFT block 270 of size N performs an FFT algorithm to produce N parallel frequency domain signals. The parallel-to-serial block 275 converts the parallel frequency domain signals into a sequence of modulated data symbols. Channel decoding and demodulation block 280 demodulates and decodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream.

Each of the base stations 101-103 may implement a transmit path 200 similar to that transmitted to the UEs 111-116 in the downlink and may implement a receive path 250 similar to that received from the UEs 111-116 in the uplink. Similarly, each of the UEs 111-116 can implement a transmit path 200 for transmission in the uplink to the eNBs 101-103 and can implement a receive path 250 for reception in the downlink from the base station 101-103.

Each of the components in fig. 2A and 2B may be implemented using hardware only or using a combination of hardware and software/firmware. As a specific example, at least some of the components in fig. 2A and 2B may be implemented in software, while other components may be implemented in configurable hardware or a mixture of software and configurable hardware. For example, FFT block 270 and IFFT block 215 may be implemented as configurable software algorithms, where the value of size N may be modified depending on the implementation.

Furthermore, although described as using an FFT and IFFT, this is for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Other types of transforms, such as Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) functions, may be used. It will be understood that the value of the variable N may be any integer (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) for DFT and IDFT functions, and any integer that is a power of two (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.) for FFT and IFFT functions.

Although fig. 2A and 2B show examples of wireless transmission and wireless reception paths, various changes may be made to fig. 2A and 2B. For example, various components in fig. 2A and 2B may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted, and other components may be added according to particular needs. Also, fig. 2A and 2B are for illustrating examples of types of transmission and reception paths that can be used in a wireless network. Any other suitable architecture may be used to support wireless communications in a wireless network.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a UE116 according to the present disclosure. The embodiment of UE116 shown in fig. 3 is for illustration only, and UEs 111-115 in fig. 1 may have the same or similar configurations. However, the UE is presented in a wide variety of configurations, and fig. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of the UE.

As shown in fig. 3, the UE116 includes an antenna 305, a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver 310, Transmit (TX) processing circuitry 315, a microphone 320, and Receive (RX) processing circuitry 325. The UE116 also includes a speaker 330, a main processor 340, an input output (I/O) Interface (IF)345, a keypad 350, a display 355, and a memory 360. Memory 360 includes a basic Operating System (OS) program 361 and one or more applications 362.

The RF transceiver 310 receives from the antenna 305 incoming RF signals transmitted by enbs of the network 100. RF transceiver 310 downconverts the incoming RF signal to generate an Intermediate Frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to RX processing circuitry 325, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. RX processing circuitry 325 sends the processed baseband signal to speaker 330 (e.g., for voice data) or to main processor 340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as network data, email, or interactive video game data) from main processor 340. TX processing circuitry 315 decodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceiver 310 receives outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from TX processing circuitry 315 and upconverts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals, which are transmitted via antenna 305.

Main processor 340 may include one or more processors or other processing devices and executes basic OS programs 361 stored in memory 360 in order to control overall operation of UE 116. For example, main processor 340 may control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals through RF transceiver 310, RX processing circuitry 325, and TX processing circuitry 315 in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, main processor 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

Main processor 340 may also be capable of executing other processes and programs resident in memory 360, such as the operations described herein for selecting a physical uplink channel (PUxCH). Main processor 340 may install data to move to memory 360 or from memory 360 as required by the operating process. In some embodiments, main processor 340 is configured to run applications 362 based on OS programs 361 or in response to signals received from an eNB or operator. Main processor 340 is also coupled to I/O interface 345, which provides UE116 with the ability to connect with other devices, such as laptops and handhelds. The I/O interface 345 is the communication path for these accessories and the main controller 340.

Main processor 340 is also coupled to keyboard 350 and display unit 355. The operator of the UE116 may use the keyboard 350 to input data to the UE 116. Display 355 may be a liquid crystal display, or other display capable of rendering, such as text and/or at least limited graphics from a website.

Memory 360 is coupled to main processor 340. A portion of memory 360 may include Random Access Memory (RAM) while another portion of memory 360 includes flash memory or other Read Only Memory (ROM).

Although fig. 3 illustrates one example of UE116, various changes may be made to fig. 3. For example, various components in fig. 3 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted, and other components may be added according to particular needs. As a specific example, main processor 340 may be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs) and one or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Further, although fig. 3 shows the UE116 configured as a mobile phone or smartphone, the UE can be configured to operate as other types of mobile or fixed devices.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example deployment scenario 400 of a small cell 402 and a macro cell 404 in accordance with this disclosure. In some embodiments, for small cell enhancements, a target scenario for small cell research is described with reference to 4-3 gpp tr 36.932. Small cell enhancements may be for small cell deployments with and without macro coverage, both outdoor and indoor, and both ideal and non-ideal backhaul. Both sparse and dense small cell deployments may be considered.

In various embodiments with and without macro coverage, as shown in fig. 4, small cell enhancements may be directed to deployment scenarios in which small cell nodes are deployed under the coverage of one or more overlapping E-UTRAN macro cell layers in order to boost the capacity of a deployed cellular network. In various embodiments, example scenarios may include:

1) wherein the UE is in coverage of both the macro cell and the small cell; and

2) where the UE is not in coverage of both the macro cell and the small cell at the same time.

Fig. 4 also illustrates a scenario in which small cell nodes, such as small cell nodes in area 406, are not deployed under the coverage of one or more overlapping E-UTRAN macro cell layers 408. This scenario may also be the target of small cell enhanced SI.

Fig. 5A and 5B illustrate an example quasi-cell 502, a New Carrier Type (NCT) cell 504, and a backward compatible cell 506 according to the present disclosure. In some embodiments, quasi-cell 502 is co-channel deployed on a carrier (or carrier frequency) with cells 504 and 506. Quasi-cell 502 and cells 504 and 506 may be placed in two geographically separate locations. The quasi-cell 502 is identified by a quasi-cell specific discovery signal (and discovery identifier or "ID"). Advanced UEs can identify the quasi-cell 502 by detecting the quasi-cell specific discovery signal, whereas legacy UEs cannot identify the quasi-cell 502.

The network can utilize the quasi-cell 502 to transmit Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) data to both legacy UEs and advanced UEs. When the advanced UE receives PDSCH data from the quasi cell 502, the advanced UE may know that it is receiving PDSCH data from the quasi cell 502. Even when the legacy UEs receive PDSCH data from the quasi cell 502, the operation of the quasi cell 502 is transparent to the legacy UEs, and the legacy UEs are not aware of the existence of the quasi cell 502 since the legacy UEs operate according to the legacy specifications without a specific protocol defined for the quasi cell. In some embodiments, the quasi-cell 502 may not be a legacy cell because it does not carry the PSS/SSS and physical cell id (pci) used to identify the cell.

In some embodiments, in a 3gpp lte, there may be several Downlink (DL) allocation Downlink Control Information (DCI) formats that convey scheduling information, such as a set of scheduled Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), a rank of transmission, a set of antenna port numbers, a modulation and coding scheme, Transmit Power Control (TPC) commands for the PUCCH, and so on. An example DL assignment DCI format may be found in reference 2-36.212, which includes DCI formats 1A/1C/2/2 a/2B/2C/2D. In the present disclosure, the phrase "DL assignment DCI formats" is used to refer to these DCI formats and their variants.

In some embodiments, in the legacy RAN2 specification (36.331v10.5.0), Pcell, Scell, and serving cell may be defined as follows:

● primary cell (Pcell): a cell operating on the primary frequency in which the UE either performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure, or is indicated as a cell of the primary cell in a handover procedure.

● Secondary cell (Scell): a cell operating on a secondary frequency, which may be configured once an RRC connection is established and which may be used to provide further radio resources.

● serving cell: for a UE in RRC _ CONNECTED (RRC CONNECTED) that is not configured with CA, there is only one serving cell consisting of the primary cell. For a UE in RRC CONNECTED configured with CA, the term "serving cell" is used to denote the set of one or more cells including the primary cell and all secondary cells.

In some embodiments, from the perspective of the medium access control/radio resource control (MAC/RRC) layer (RAN2), Pcell (macro) handles UE mobility and initial access, while Scell is used for data transmission/reception. This approach may avoid too frequent handovers between multiple picocells.

In the Physical (PHY) layer specification (RAN1), in some embodiments, the terms Pcell and Scell are employed to define the UE behavior associated with UL/DL control signaling. Some examples are: the PUCCH is transmitted only in Pcell; when only the Pcell transmits the PDSCH to the UE configured with a plurality of serving cells, the UE transmits the corresponding HARQ-ACK by using PUCCH format 1a/1 b; when Scell sends PDSCH to UE, UE sends corresponding HARQ-ACK using PUCCH format 3 (as in table 1); and, common DL control signaling (PDCCH/ePDCCH common search space) is transmitted only in Pcell.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a Pcell is defined at Rel-10/11 as a legacy Pcell.

Fig. 6A-6D illustrate example inter-eNB CA and CoMP systems 600a-600D according to this disclosure. In FIGS. 6A-6D, communication occurs between a UE606A-606D and two eNBs (i.e., eNBs 602a-602D and eNBs 604 a-604D). The enbs operate in the same carrier frequency in fig. 6C and 6D and in two different carrier frequencies in fig. 6A and 6B.

In fig. 6A to 6D, one of the two enbs (cell 1) is a macro eNB and the other eNB (cell 2) is a pico eNB. However, the concepts of the present disclosure may be generally applicable to two enbs of any type. The enbs in question may be connected with a slow backhaul, where a message transmission from one eNB to another (or a signaling delay between two enbs) may take more than some milliseconds, such as tens of milliseconds (or subframes).

Fig. 6A shows a CA system 600a between Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) enbs. System 600a includes enbs 602a and 604a and UE606 a. In system 600a, UE606a is configured with two serving cells on two different carrier frequencies. The UE606a receives and transmits signals from and to the macro eNB602a and 602a on carrier frequencies f1-DL and f1-UL, respectively. UE606a receives and transmits signals from and to pico eNB604a and 604a on carrier frequencies f2-DL and f2-UL, respectively.

Fig. 6B illustrates a CA system 600B between Time Division Duplex (TDD) enbs. System 600b includes eNBs 602b and 604b and UE606 b. In some embodiments, the system 600b, the UE606b is configured with two serving cells on two different carrier frequencies. UE606b transmits and receives signals to and from macro eNB602b and 602b on carrier frequency F1, and UE606b transmits and receives signals to and from pico eNB604b and 604b on carrier frequency F2.

Fig. 6C illustrates a CoMP system 600C between fddenbs. System 600c includes eNBs 602c and 604c and UE606 c. In some embodiments, the UE606c is configured to support simultaneous reception of 2 PDSCH from two serving cells (such as a macro cell and a pico cell) on the same carrier frequency — f1-DL for DL and f1-UL for UL.

Fig. 6D illustrates a CoMP system 600D between tddenbs. System 600d includes eNBs 602d and 604d and UE606 d. In some embodiments, the UE606d is configured with a Transmission Mode (TM) that supports receiving 2 PDSCHs from two serving cells, such as a macro cell and a pico cell, on the same carrier frequency F1.

For the operations described in fig. 6A-6D, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured with two serving cells (operating in two carrier frequencies in the case of fig. 6A and 6B, or operating in the same carrier frequency in the case of fig. 6C and 6D) according to the carrier aggregation specification of 3gpp lte release 10. In release 10 carrier aggregation, it is assumed that either two cells are co-located (co-located) in a single site or, when not co-located, the backhaul delay is negligible (or the signaling delay between two cells is significantly less than one subframe) so that two cells in two different sites can operate as if they were in a single site. In such an example, the downlink/uplink scheduling information (such as for PDSCH and PUSCH) for the two cells is dynamically available at each of the two cells.

There are several releases 10 of carrier aggregation operations that rely on the assumption of dynamically available scheduling information. One such example is a pucchhharq-ACK transmission. In release 10, PUCCH may be transmitted only on the primary cell (Pcell) of the two cells. The PUCCH resource in response to the dynamically scheduled PDSCH is determined by at least one of dynamically available information, such as CCE index of PDCCH scheduling PDSCH in Pcell, status of TPC field in PDCCH scheduling PDSCH of secondary cell (Scell), and/or the like.

Fig. 7A-7B illustrate a Primary CA Group (PCG)702 and a Secondary CA Group (SCG)704 in accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the association of cells with a particular cell may be achieved by grouping cells configured to the UE into one or more CA groups. The CA group may contain one or more than one cell. The cells grouped as CA groups are associated with a particular enodeb (e.g., either a serving enodeb or a drift enodeb). Uplink Control Information (UCI) of scells in one CA group (e.g., HARQ-ACK, CSI) is transmitted to cells belonging to the same CA group. In other words, the UCI of a cell in one CA group is never transmitted to a cell in another CA group.

In an embodiment, a CA group consisting of pcells may be referred to as a Primary CA Group (PCG), and a CA group consisting of pcells may be referred to as a Secondary CA Group (SCG). There may be one PCG, but there may be zero, one, or more than one SCG. In an embodiment, an evolved node B handling PCGs may be referred to as a PCG evolved node B, and an evolved node B handling SCGs may be referred to as an SCG evolved node B.

In an embodiment, fig. 7A illustrates a configuration of a primary CA Group (CG)702a and a secondary CA Group (CG)704a of an inter-eNB CA scenario. The primary CG702a and the secondary CG704a are sometimes referred to as CG1 and CG2, respectively. Assuming cooperation over the X2 interface, a Rel-10/11 based CA framework can be maintained but enhanced by an eNB-centric process:

● to the macro cell (cell 1) 'primary' RRC connection, to the small cell (or pico, or cell 2) 'secondary' RRC connection.

(a) There is still only one actual RRC connection, i.e. RAN node with a signalling connection to the CN.

● carriers are grouped based on their association with the eNB: a Primary Carrier Group (PCG) and one or more Secondary Carrier Groups (SCG).

● CG has no possibility of cross-carrier scheduling. Cross-carrier scheduling within each CG is still possible.

● the UL carriers of the various CGs should belong to different Timing Advance Groups (TAGs).

● the random access procedure is performed entirely in the respective CG.

● UCIs belonging to different CGs are transmitted in the UL carriers of the respective CGs.

In an embodiment, fig. 7B illustrates a configuration of a first primary CA group 702B and a second primary CA group 704B of an inter-eNB CA scenario. The first PCG702b and the second PCG704b are sometimes referred to as CG1 and CG2, respectively. Assuming no cooperation over the X2 interface (however cooperation over S1 is possible), each CG is independently RRC connected (dual RRC connection).

● the RRC connected state of each cell at a given timing may be different.

(a) If two RRC's are connected, there are two C-RNTIs.

(b) The traffic through each eNB is controlled at the S-GW.

In an embodiment, the CG may also be defined as being the same as a Timing Advance Group (TAG) having the attributes described above for the CG.

Physical channel carrying UCI:

aperiodic CSI is carried on PUSCH, regardless of whether HARQ-ACK/SR is fed back in the same subframe for the same CG.

HARQ-ACK/SR is carried on PUCCH format 1/1a/1b/3 and PUCCH format 1b with channel selection if not multiplexed with periodic CSI and if no PUSCH is scheduled in the same CG; HARQ-ACK/SR is carried on PUCCH format 2a/2b/3 if multiplexed with periodic CSI and if no PUSCH is scheduled in the same CG; HARQ-ACK/SR is carried on PUSCH if at least one PUSCH is scheduled in the same CG.

If no PUSCH is scheduled in the same CG, then the periodic CSI is carried in PUCCH format 2; if at least one PUSCH is scheduled in the same CG, then periodic CSI is carried in the PUSCH.

Priority handling/dropping rules for periodic CSI

The following regarding periodic CSI feedback is described with reference to fig. 3.

For the PUCCH CSI reporting modes given in tables 7.2.2-3, the following CQI/PMI and RI reporting types with different periods and offsets are supported:

type 1 reporting support CQI feedback for UE-selected sub-bands

Type 1a reporting support subband CQI and second PMI feedback

Type 2, type 2b and type 2c reporting support wideband CQI and PMI feedback

Type 2a reporting support for wideband PMI feedback

Type 3 reporting support RI feedback

Type 4 reporting support wideband CQI

Type 5 report support RI and wideband PMI feedback

Type 6 report support RI and PTI feedback

Table 1 represents PUCCH report type payload size per PUCCH report mode and mode status

In case a CSI report with PUCCH report type 3, 5 or 6 of one serving cell collides with a CSI report with PUCCH report type 1, 1a, 2a, 2b, 2c or 4 of the same serving cell, the latter CSI report with PUCCH report type (1, 1a, 2a, 2b, 2c or 4) has lower priority and is discarded.

For the serving cell and the UE configured in transmission mode 10, in case of collision between CSI reports of the same serving cell having the same priority PUCCH reporting type and CSI reports corresponding to different CSI processes, CSI reports corresponding to all CSI processes except for the CSI process having the lowest CSIProcessIndex (CSI process index) are discarded.

If the UE is configured with more than one serving cell, the UE sends CSI reports for only one serving cell in any given subframe. For a given subframe, in case a CSI report with PUCCH report type 3, 5, 6 or 2a of one serving cell collides with a CSI report with PUCCH type 1, 1a, 2b, 2c or 4 of another serving cell, the latter CSI report with PUCCH report type (1, 1a, 2b, 2c or 4) has lower priority and is discarded. For a given subframe, in case a CSI report with PUCCH report type 2, 2b, 2c or 4 of one serving cell collides with a CSI report with PUCCH type 1 or 1a of another serving cell, the latter CSI report with PUCCH report type (1 or 1a) has lower priority and is discarded.

In case of collision between CSI reports of different serving cells with the same priority PUCCH reporting type for a given subframe and a UE configured in transmission mode 1-9 for all serving cells, the CSI of the serving cell with the lowest ServCellIndex is reported while the CSI of all other serving cells is discarded.

For a given subframe and serving cell with UE configured in transmission mode 10, in case of collision between CSI reports of different serving cells with PUCCH reporting types of the same priority and CSI reports corresponding to CSI processes with the same CSIProcessIndex, CSI reports of all serving cells except the serving cell with the lowest ServCellIndex are discarded.

For a given subframe and serving cell with UE configured in transmission mode 10, in case of collision between CSI reports of different serving cells with PUCCH reporting types of the same priority and CSI reports corresponding to CSI processes with different csiprocessindexes (CSI process indices), CSI reports of all serving cells except the serving cell with CSI report corresponding to the CSI process with the lowest CSIProcessIndex (CSI process index) are discarded.

For a given subframe, in the event of a conflict between a CSI report of a given serving cell with a UE configured in transmission mode 1-9 and a CSI report of a CSI process corresponding to a different serving cell with a UE configured in transmission mode 10, and a CSI report of a serving cell with a PUCCH reporting type of the same priority, CSI reports corresponding to CSI processes with CSIProcessIndex >1 of the different serving cell are discarded.

For a given subframe, in case of a collision between a CSI report of a given serving cell with a UE configured in transmission mode 1-9 and a CSI report of a CSI process with CSIProcessIndex ═ 1 corresponding to a different serving cell with a UE configured in transmission mode 10, and a CSI report of a serving cell with a PUCCH reporting type of the same priority, the CSI report of the serving cell with the highest ServCellIndex is discarded.

In reference 3, one type of periodic CSI is described with respect to another type of priority processing in a manner in which de-prioritized (de-prioritized) CSI is always dropped. However, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, de-prioritized CSI is processed differently, even considering the same priority processing rules.

When the UE in fig. 6 operates in one of the configurations in fig. 7, PUCCH transmissions for the two CGs are configured independently, and thus the UE may be scheduled to transmit two PUCCHs on two ulpcells in the two CGs in a subframe. It is problematic for the UE to transmit two PUCCHs in one subframe because the UE may be subject to power limitations in the subframe. When the UE is power limited, the UE cannot transmit two PUCCHs with fully configured power, and the UE may have to reduce the power of at least one of the PUCCHs to meet the power class of the UE (e.g., the total transmit power of the UE cannot exceed 23dBm, or Pcmax ≦ 23 dBm). When the reduced power PUCCH is received at the eNB along with other full power PUCCHs, the reduced power PUCCH may not be received as reliably as the full power PUCCH, especially when the reduced power PUCCH and the full power PUCCH are transmitted in the same pair of PRBs. This problem is similar to the near-far effect that occurs in CDMA systems.

To address the "near-far" effect, it is proposed that, at least in the power limited case, the UE drops one of the two scheduled PUCCHs and transmits only one PUCCH according to the PUCCH's priority handling rules.

Fig. 8 is an example process 800 for collision handling when multiple PUCCHs are scheduled in a subframe according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The processes described herein may be used by any suitable device, such as the eNB and UE in fig. 6.

In an embodiment, consider that the UE in fig. 6 operates in one of the configurations in fig. 7. In operations 802 and 804, the UE is scheduled to transmit a set of UCIs (e.g., HARQ-ACKs, CSI, SRs, etc.) to each of CG1 and CG2 in subframe n. Further, the UE is not scheduled a PUSCH to be transmitted in subframe n. In an embodiment, for each CG, according to the release 11 CA procedure, a subset of UCI is selected from a set of UCI intended for the CG, and a PUCCH format carrying the subset of UCI is determined.

In operation 806, the UE selects one from two PUCCHs to transmit in subframe n. The selected PUCCH is determined according to a priority processing rule and the other PUCCHs are discarded.

Fig. 9 is an example process 900 for collision handling when multiple PUCCHs are scheduled in a subframe according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The processes described herein may be used by any suitable device, such as the eNB and UE in fig. 6.

In an embodiment, consider that the UE in fig. 6 operates in one of the configurations in fig. 7. In operations 902 and 904, the UE is scheduled to transmit a set of UCIs (e.g., HARQ-ACKs, CSI, SRs, etc.) to each of CG1 and CG2 in subframe n. Further, the UE is not scheduled a PUSCH to be transmitted in subframe n. In an embodiment, for each CG, a subset of UCI is selected from a set of UCI intended for the CG, and a PUCCH format carrying the subset of UCI is determined according to the CA procedure of release 11.

Also, UE operation to transmit PUCCH in a subframe depends on whether the UE is power limited in the current subframe. If the total power, i.e. the sum of the powers of the two PUCCHs calculated separately, is greater than the power class of the UE, or P_CMAX(i) In dB (or in linear scale) Then the UE is said to be power limited. In operation 906, if the UE is not power limited, then in operation 908, two PUCCHs are simultaneously transmitted on their respective CGs. In operation 906, if the UE is power limited, in operation 910, the UE transmits only one of two PUCCHs in operation 912, wherein one selected PUCCH is determined according to the priority processing rule in operation 910. In one or more embodiments, the term "selected" may be a prioritization of one PUCCH over another PUCCH. For example, power may be allocated to the selected PUCCH, while the remaining power is allocated to any other PUCCH.

For the procedures 800 and 900, a priority handling rule for the colliding PUCCHs must be defined. In this application, we propose the following for the priority handling rules.

In an embodiment, priority handling dependent on PUCCH formats, exists when one PUCCH format takes precedence over another PUCCH format.

The PUCCH format carrying HARQ-ACK may be considered more important for system operation than the PUCCH format carrying CSI. Therefore, the PUCCH format carrying HARQ-ACK is prioritized over the PUCCH format carrying CSI.

For example, PUCCH format 1a/1b takes precedence over PUCCH format 2.

Between PUCCH formats carrying HARQ-ACK, PUCCH formats for CA are prioritized over PUCCH formats for non-CA, since PUCCH formats for CA carry more information than PUCCH formats for non-CA.

For example, PUCCH format 3 and PUCCH format 1a/1b with channel selection used to carry HARQ-ACK are prioritized over PUCCH format 1a/1 b.

Between a PUCCH format carrying multiple types of information (such as HARQ-ACK and CSI) and a PUCCH format carrying a single type of information, the PUCCH format carrying multiple types of information is prioritized in order to minimize loss.

For example, PUCCH format 2a/2b takes precedence over PUCCH format 1a/1b and PUCCH format 2.

For example, PUCCH format 3 carrying HARQ-ACK and CSI is prioritized over PUCCH format 3 carrying only HARQ-ACK.

Between PUCCH format 1 (active SR only) and PUCCH format 2 (periodic CSI only), active SR is preferred.

In this embodiment, the UE may send an active SR without interruption due to CSI feedback in another CG.

Considering these three priority handling principles, the alternative list for the complete priority list is summarized as follows (where 'a < B' means a has a priority less than B):

alternate list 1: PUCCH format 2< PUCCH format 1a/1b < PUCCH format 2a/2b < PUCCH format 1a/1b with channel selection < PUCCH format 3 carrying HARQ-ACK only < PUCCH format 3 carrying HARQ-ACK and CSI.

Here, between the two PUCCHs used for HARQ-ACK in CA, PUCCH format 3 takes precedence over PUCCH format 1a/1b with channel selection, because PUCCH format 3 can potentially carry more HARQ-ACK information bits than PUCCH format 1a/1b with channel selection.

Alternate list 2: PUCCH format 2< PUCCH format 1< < PUCCH format 1a/1b < PUCCH format 2a/2b < PUCCH format 1a/1b with channel selection PUCCH format 3 carrying HARQ-ACK only < PUCCH format 3 carrying HARQ-ACK and CSI.

Here, two PUCCH formats used for HARQ-ACK in CA are equally prioritized.

Alternate list 3: PUCCH format 2< PUCCH format 1; and the PUCCH format transmitting the larger HARQ-ACK payload is prioritized over the PUCCH format transmitting the smaller HARQ-ACK payload. The HARQ-ACK payload is determined by the number of cells configured in the CG, the respective PDSCH transmission mode (transmission or one or two transport blocks), and for TDD systems, the maximum number of DL subframes for which the UE sends HARQ-ACKs in UL subframes (this maximum number of DL subframes is also referred to as bundling window).

Tie-breaking (Tie-breaking) rule: PUCCH format dependent prioritization may be used first to determine which PUCCH format to transmit in a subframe. However, it may happen that both PUCCHs have the same PUCCH format or that both PUCCHs may have the same priority, e.g., as in alternative list 2 above). Then the tie breaking rule is necessary for the UE to determine the PUCCH to be transmitted in the subframe.

Between two identical PUCCH formats for HARQ-ACK/SR, or two PUCCH formats for HARQ-ACK/SR with the same priority: two alternatives are contemplated.

Alternative mode 1: a PUCCH scheduled in a CG having a lower CG index among two configured CGs is transmitted. Alternatively, when the PCG and the SCG are configured, the PCG is prioritized over the SCG, and only the PUCCH scheduled in the PCG is transmitted. It is beneficial if the SCG is mainly used to carry best effort traffic and the PCG is mainly used to carry traffic with more stringent QoS requirements.

Alternative 2: the number of HARQ-ACK bits in the two PUCCHs is first compared: if the first PUCCH carries more HARQ-ACK bits than the second PUCCH, then only the first PUCCH is transmitted. Here, the number of HARQ-ACK bits may imply the number of configured HARQ-ACK bits, which is calculated based on the configured TM in the configured serving cell and, for TDD systems, the bundling window size. If the first and second PUCCHs carry the same number of HARQ-ACK bits, the PUCCH in the CG having a lower CG index among the two configured CGs is transmitted, or alternatively, the PCG is prioritized over the SCG and only the PUCCH scheduled in the PCG is transmitted.

Between two same PUCCH formats for CSI, or two PUCCH formats for CSI with the same priority:

alternative mode 1: a PUCCH scheduled in a CG having a lower CG index among two configured CGs is transmitted. When the PCG and the SCG are configured, the PCG is prioritized over the SCG, and only the PUCCH scheduled in the PCG is transmitted. It is beneficial if the SCG is mainly used to carry best effort traffic and the PCG is mainly used to carry traffic with more stringent QoS requirements.

Alternative 2: first, the CSI types carried in the two scheduled PUCCHs are compared: if the first PUCCH carries a more prioritized CSI type than the second PUCCH, then only the first PUCCH is transmitted (see periodic CSI discard rule of the background section). If the first and second PUCCHs carry the same type of CSI, a PUCCH in a CG having a lower CG index among two configured CGs is transmitted, or alternatively, a PCG is prioritized over an SCG, and only a PUCCH scheduled in the PCG is transmitted.

In another alternative, we can consider priority handling based on RRC configuration. In one example, the CG is configured with a CG index. The PUCCH scheduled in the CG having the smallest index has precedence over the other PUCCHs.

Power allocation when scheduling PUCCH and PUSCH with UCI in subframe

Consider the UE in fig. 6 operating in one of the configurations in fig. 7. Assume that the UE is scheduled to transmit a set of UCIs (e.g., HARQ-ACKs, CSI, SRs, etc.) to each of CG1 and CG2 in subframe n. Assume further that at least one PUSCH for a first CG has been scheduled for a UE to be transmitted in subframe n, while the UE is not scheduled to transmit PUSCH for any second CG.

Next, for the second CG (without PUSCH), according to the release 11 CA procedure, a subset of UCI is selected from the set of UCI intended for the CG, and a PUCCH format carrying the subset of UCI is determined. Further, for the first CG (with PUSCH), according to the release 11 CA procedure, a subset of UCI is selected from among UCI intended for CGs and multiplexed on one selected PUSCH.

Sometimes, for example at subframe i, the sum of the power for PUCCH and PUSCH with UCI may exceed the power class of the UE(i.e., the UE is power limited). To address the power limitation in this embodiment, two alternative approaches, namely approach 3 and approach 4, are considered.

The method 3 comprises the following steps: when power is limited, the power priority is PUCCH>PUSCH with UCI>PUSCH without UCI. In this embodiment, the PUSCH transmission with UCI in serving cell j and the other PUSCH transmission without UCI in any of the remaining serving cells on the first CG should be power controlled so that the total transmit power of the UE does not exceed the total transmit power of the UEAs follows:

first, full power P is allocated on PUCCH_PUCCH(i)。

Secondly, full power will be suppliedAnd the smaller of the remaining power gives the PUSCH with UCI in serving cell j.

Finally, the remaining power is allocated to the PUSCH without UCI in the serving cell c in equal proportion.

In this embodiment, the UE is based on

{\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i)))

And

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotEqual;</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> </mrow> </math>

to obtainAnd

wherein,

{\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i)

is P_PUCCH(i) The linear value of (a) is,

{\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, c} (i)

is P_PUSCH,c(i) The linear value of (a) is,

{\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i)

total configured maximum output power P for UEs defined in reference 6 in subframe i_CMAXAnd w (i) is for serving cell cWherein 0. ltoreq. w (i). ltoreq.1. In case there is no transmission of PUCCH in subframe i,

the method 4 comprises the following steps: when power is limited, the power prioritization depends on the content of UCI carried on PUSCH and PUCCH.

When the PUCCH takes precedence over the PUSCH with UCI, the UE is according to

{\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i)))

And

to obtainAnd

on the other hand, when the PUSCH with UCI is prioritized over the PUCCH, two alternatives are considered.

In one alternative (PUCCH power allocation alternative 1), the UE is based on

{\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i)))

And

to obtainAnd

this alternative ensures that the lower priority PUCCH is still transmitted even if the transmit power is reduced.

In another alternative (PUCCH power allocation alternative 2), PUCCH is transmitted only when UL transmissions are not power limited; when UL transmission is power limited, PUCCH is discarded. In other words, the UE is based on

And

to obtainAnd

according to this alternative, the PUCCH is transmitted with its full power whenever it is transmitted, and when it is transmitted toWhen the remaining power after full power allocation is insufficient for full power transmission of the PUCCH, the PUCCH is discarded (or allocated with zero power). This approach eliminates the near-far effect.

In an alternative, PUSCH with UCI is prioritized over PUCCH in at least one of the following cases:

the PUSCH carries aperiodic CSI.

In CGs having a lower length than the CGs in which the PUCCH is scheduled, the PUSCH is transmitted.

The eNB may configure a CG index for the configured CGs.

PUSCH carries UCI with higher priority than PUCI carried by PUCCH

For example, PUSCH carries HARQ-ACK and PUCCH does not.

For example, the PUSCH carries HARQ-ACK with more payload than the HARQ-ACK carried by the PUCCH.

Otherwise, the PUCCH takes precedence over the PUSCH with UCI.

Aperiodic CSI is the most preferred, so that the eNB can expect to receive aperiodic CSI whenever the eNB has triggered aperiodic CSI in the respective CGs. Between HARQ-ACK/SR and periodic CSI, HARQ-ACK/SR is prioritized to ensure reliable HARQ operation.

Power allocation when scheduling at least two PUSCHs with UCI in a subframe

Consider the UE in fig. 6 operating in one of the configurations in fig. 7. Assume that a UE is scheduled to transmit a set of UCIs (e.g., HARQ-ACKs, CSI, SRs, etc.) to each of CG1 and CG2 in subframe n. Assume further that at least one PUSCH for each of the first CG and the second CG has been scheduled to be transmitted by the UE at subframe n.

For each of the first and second CGs (with PUSCHs), a subset of UCI is selected from among UCI intended for the CGs and multiplexed on one selected PUSCH according to the release 11 CA procedure.

Sometimes, for example at subframe i, the sum of the power for PUCCH and PUSCH with UCI may exceed the power class of the UE(i.e., the UE is power limited). In this embodiment, PUSCH transmissions with UCI in serving cell j1 and serving cell j2 and other PUSCH transmissions without UCI in any of the remaining serving cells should be power controlled so that the total transmit power of the UE does not exceed the total transmit power of the UEThe set of serving cell indices for carrying PUSCH with UCI is denoted by J, where J ═ J1, J2 in this embodiment.

Two alternative methods for solving the power limitation problem, namely method 5 and method 6, are contemplated, as described below.

The method 5 comprises the following steps: when power is limited, two PUSCHs with UCI are equally prioritized over PUSCHs without UCI in power control, as shown below:

if the sum of the transmission powers of the two PUSCHs in serving cells j1 and j2 exceeds the total power (i.e.,) Then the same scaling factor w (i) is applied to the PUSCH with UCI so that the total power does not exceed(i.e., the amount of the acid,) And allocates 0 power to the other PUSCHs.

Otherwise, full power is first allocated to PUSCH transmissions with UCI in serving cells j1 and j 2; the remaining power is then equally divided to the PUSCH without UCI in the serving cell c (i.e.,

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotElement;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>j</mi> <mo>&Element;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>.</mo> </mrow> </math>

the method 6 comprises the following steps: when power is limited, power allocation to a PUSCH carrying UCI with higher priority is more prioritized than UCI carried by other PUSCHs.

When the PUSCH in serving cell j1 takes precedence over the PUSCH of serving cell j2 in power allocation, power control is performed according to the following:

if the sum of the transmission powers of the two PUSCHs in serving cells j1 and j2 exceeds the total power (i.e.,) Then the full power is allocated to the PUSCH in serving cell j1, while the remaining power is allocated to the PUSCH in serving cell j2 (i.e.,

{\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j_{2}} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j_{2}} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j_{1}} (i)))

) And allocates 0 power to the other PUSCHs.

Otherwise, full power is first allocated to PUSCH transmissions with UCI in serving cells j1 and j 2; the same scaling factor w (i) is then applied to the PUSCH without UCI in serving cell c so that the total power does not exceed(i.e., the amount of the acid,

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotElement;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>j</mi> <mo>&Element;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> </mrow> </math>

)。

in an alternative UCI prioritization, aperiodic CSI (with/without HARQ-ACK/SR) > HARQ-ACK/SR (with or without periodic CSI) > periodic CSI (without HARQ-ACK).

When all PUSCHs with UCI carry UCI of the same priority, the alternative method for the power limitation case is:

alternative method 1: the same scale factor is applied to the PUSCH with UCI so that the total transmission power does not exceed(i.e., the amount of the acid,

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>j</mi> <mo>&Element;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> </mrow> </math>

)。

alternative method 2: the PUSCH transmitted in the PCG is prioritized, and the PUSCH transmitted in the SCG is allocated with the remaining power or its transmission is suspended by the UE.

Alternative method 3: the UE decides which of the PUSCHs takes precedence depending on the content of the UCI.

And when the UCI with the same priority is HARQ-ACK/SR, one PUSCH carrying more HARQ-ACK bit numbers is prior to other PUSCHs in power allocation. When the number of HARQ-ACK bits is equal for all PUSCHs with UCI, one of the alternative method 1 or the alternative method 2 is used for power allocation.

When the UCIs of the same priority are periodic CSI, one PUSCH carrying more preferential periodic CSI according to the periodic CSI priority processing/dropping rule of release 11 is prioritized over other PUSCHs in power allocation. When the types of periodic CSI are the same, one of the alternative method 1 or the alternative method 2 is used for power allocation.

Example (b): priority handling based on CG precedence index

For simplicity, we propose CG-prioritization-index (CG-prioritization-index) based prioritization processing for UCI transmissions. Here, note that the eNB may configure the CG precedence index for the configured CG at a higher layer (e.g., RRC). We use CG-configuration (CG-Config) to represent the RRC Information Element (IE) configuring the CG.

In one alternative, the CG precedence index is the same as the CG index (CG-Identity), and it is not explicitly signaled. In this embodiment, the CG-configuration may look like:

in one example, the CG-label of the PCG has the smallest value among the configured CG-label values. In another example, the CG-id of the PCG is equal to 0 and the CG-id of the SCG is greater than 0. In one alternative, the CG Prioritization index (CG-Prioritization-Identity) is configured as a field in the IE that configures the CG. In this embodiment, the CG-configuration may look like:

in an alternative, each CG is configured with two CG precedence indexes, one for HARQ-ACK (CG-precedence-HARQ-ACK-Identity) and the other for periodic CSI (CG-precedence-PCSI-Identity). In this embodiment, the CG-configuration may look like:

when two PUCCHs are scheduled in a subframe for a UE:

in one alternative, the PUCCH scheduled in the CG with the lowest CG precedence order index is transmitted while the other PUCCHs are discarded.

In another alternative, when power is not limited, both PUCCHs are transmitted; when power is limited, the PUCCH scheduled in the CG having the lowest CG precedence order index is transmitted, while the other PUCCHs are discarded.

When power is limited, between the puxchs for UCI transmission, the puxchs scheduled in CGs having lower CG precedence order indexes are prioritized in power allocation when PUCCH and PUSCH having UCI are scheduled to the UE in a subframe. In case that the PUSCH without UCI is also scheduled in the same subframe, the remaining power after allocating power to the PUxCH is allocated to the PUSCH without UCI and the same power ratio is applied.

When power is limited, two PUSCHs with UCI take precedence over one without UCI in power allocation when they are scheduled to the UE in a subframe. Among PUSCHs with UCI, PUSCHs with UCI carried in CGs with smaller CG precedence index are prioritized over other PUSCHs.

If the sum of the transmission powers of the two PUSCHs in serving cells j1 and j2 exceeds the total power (i.e.,) Then full power is allocated to the PUSCH in serving cell j min (j1, j2) and the remaining power is allocated to the PUSCH in other serving cells (e.g., if j1, then j2 and

) And allocates 0 power to the other PUSCHs.

Otherwise, full power is first allocated to PUSCH transmissions with UCI in serving cells j1 and j 2; the remaining power is then equally divided to the PUSCH without UCI of the serving cell c (i.e.,)。

fig. 10 illustrates an example process 1000 of overall CG prioritization rules for UCI transmission in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processes described herein may be used by any suitable device, such as the eNB and UE in fig. 6.

In an embodiment, consider that the UE in fig. 6 operates in one of the configurations in fig. 7. In operations 1002 and 1004, the UE is scheduled to transmit a set of UCI (e.g., HARQ-ACK, CSI, SR, etc.) to each of CG1 and CG2 in subframe n. Further, the UE is not scheduled with PUxCH to be transmitted in subframe n. In an embodiment, for each CG, a subset of UCI is selected from a set of UCI intended for the CG according to the CA procedure of release 11, and a PUxCH format is determined that carries the subset of UCI. PUxCH may be either PUSCH or PUCCH.

Also, the UE operation of transmitting PUxCH in a subframe depends on whether the UE is power limited in the current subframe. If the total power, i.e. the sum of the powers of the two PUxCHs calculated separately, is greater than the power class of the UE, or P_CMAX(i) dB (or P in linear scale)_CMAX(i) Then the UE is said to be power limited. If the UE is not power limited in operation 1006, then two puxchs are simultaneously transmitted on their respective CGs in operation 1008. In operation 1006, if the UE is power limited, then in operation 1010, the UE transmits only one of the two puxchs, wherein in operation 1010, a selected one of the puxchs is determined according to priority processing rules. In one or more embodiments, the term "selected" can be a prioritization of one PUxCH relative to another PUxCH. For example, power may be allocated to a selected PUxCH, while the remaining power is allocated to any other PUxCH.

In operation 1014, it is determined whether there is any other scheduled PUSCH. If there are no other scheduled PUSCHs, the UE transmits n puxchs in operation 1016. If there are other PUSCHs, then in operation 1018, upon attempting to transmit these PUSCHs along with the PUxCH carrying UCI, the UE determines whether the UE is power limited. If not, the UE allocates full power to the PUSCH and the PUxCH carrying the UCI and transmits all physical UL signals in operation 1020. If yes in operation 1018, the UE applies a power ratio to the PUSCH and transmits all physical UL signals.

In an embodiment, the UE is configured with Nconf CGs. In one subframe, the UE is scheduled to send CSI in N CGs, where N ≦ Nconf. According to the procedure of release 11 for each CG, the UE calculates that CSI for N1 CGs should be carried on PUCCH and that CSI for N2 CGs should be carried on PUSCH, where N1+ N2. The UE then applies CG prioritization for UCI transmission, as described below.

When there is no power limitation, all scheduled UL physical channels are transmitted in a subframe.

If the total power, i.e. the sum of the separately calculated scheduled PUxCH powers in subframe i, is greater than the power class of the UE, or P_CMAX(i) In dB (or in linear scale) Then the UE is said to be power limited.

When power is limited, UCI transmitted in CG of lower CG index is prioritized. Among all N UCI-carrying puxchs (i.e., PUxCH may be either PUCCH or PUSCH), the UE first attempts to allocate full power to one UCI-carrying PUxCH scheduled in the lowest CG index. For a PUxCH carrying UCI scheduled in a CG with the second lowest CG index, the power allocation method is to select the minimum value among the power value for the PUxCH scheduled according to the power control equation and the remaining power. Power allocation continues in the same manner until the PUxCH carrying the UCI is allocated some power, or until there is no remaining power.

This process can be expressed by the following equation.

Here, n is_kThe CG index for which the k-th prioritized PUxCH is scheduled.

In an alternative, n_kA CG precedence order index that is the k-th smallest among the N CG indexes.

In another alternative, the k-th priority PUxCH is determined by UCI content according to previous methods disclosed in the present application. In one alternative, the ties are broken according to CG prioritization indices, with lower CG indices taking precedence. In another alternative, depending on the type of tie, the tie is broken according to one of the CG precedence index of the HARQ-ACK and the CG precedence index of the periodic CSI. For example, if a tie occurs such that both ties 'CGs carry periodic CSI (or HARQ-ACK), then between the two ties' CGs, the CG with the smallest periodic CSI (or HARQ-ACK) CG precedence index is prioritized.

To prevent the near-far effect from occurring due to PUCCH transmission, we may further impose constraints.

In one alternative, the constraint is to cause any PUCCH that cannot be transmitted with full power to be dropped. In other words, if calculated from the above equationLess than the originally calculated power (i.e. on the right hand side of the equation)) The PUCCH is discarded and zero power is allocated to the PUCCH.

In one alternative, the constraint is such that only one PUCCH (the most preferred PUCCH) is transmitted in any given subframe. All other scheduled PUCCHs will be allocated zero power. This approach is motivated by ensuring simple specifications.

If there is remaining power after allocating power to N puxchs, the same power ratio is applied to allocate power to PUSCHs without UCI.

This process can be expressed by the following equation.

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotElement;</mo> <mi>J</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <munderover> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>l</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>1</mn> </mrow> <mi>N</mi> </munderover> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <msub> <mi>n</mi> <mi>l</mi> </msub> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> </mrow> </math>

Fig. 11 is an example process 1100 of overall CG prioritization rules for UCI transmission in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processes described herein may be used by any suitable device, such as the eNB and UE in fig. 6.

Process 1100 is similar to process 1000 except that at operation 1110, the UE prioritizes one PUxCH over selects PUxCH.

In an embodiment, there may be priority handling rules based on the duplexing scheme/frame structure type. A UE may be configured with multiple cells including one or more FDD cells and one or more TDD cells. Different duplexing methods (FDD or TDD) in the cell configured to the UE may result in different characteristics of the respective UL transmissions. For power limited UEs, this facilitates the dependence of the UL power allocation method or transmission priority handling rules on the respective UL transmission characteristics. When multiple cells are non-co-located, UL transmissions should be directed to their respective carrier groups. For example, UCI and UL data for a cell in a carrier group should be transmitted in UL resources belonging to the carrier group.

Fig. 12A-12B illustrate an example process 1202 for rule-based priority handling of duplexing schemes/frame structure types, according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The processes described herein may be used by any suitable device, such as the eNB and UE in fig. 6.

In process 1200, in operation 1202, the UE determines whether it is power limited when attempting to transmit n scheduled puxchs. If the UE is not power limited, then the UE transmits all n puxchs with full power in operation 1208. If the UE is power limited, then in process 1200a, the UE prioritizes PUxCH in the TDD cell over PUxCH in the FDD cell at operation 1204. Next, in operation 1206, after applying the priority processing, the UE transmits m of the n PUxCHs, where m ≦ n.

In process 1200b, between operations 1202 and 1204, if the UE is power limited, the UE prioritizes PUxCH in the primary cell in operation 1203 b.

In different embodiments, there may be different methods of power allocation in the UL.

The method comprises the following steps: UL power allocation to TDD cells takes precedence over FDD cells. This is facilitated by the fact that there are fewer subframes in the TDD cell for transmitting UCI or UL data than in the FDD cell, whereas in the TDD cell the UCI payload, such as the HARQ-ACK payload, is typically larger than the UCI payload of the FDD cell (e.g., 1/2/3/4/5 for the TDD UL/DL configuration). Therefore, UL power allocation to TDD cells may be prioritized since the impact of incorrect reception of UCI or UL data in TDD cells may be higher than in FDD cells.

Method 2 UL power allocation in the primary cell in the primary carrier group takes precedence. (regardless of the frame structure type of the cell). Method 1 may then be applied to the remaining cells, i.e. TDD cells in preference to FDD cells. This may be beneficial because the primary carrier group may carry important messages (control or configuration messages) for the UE and, therefore, the reception reliability of UCI or UL data to the primary cell should be prioritized.

Method 2 a: for UL power allocation, the primary cell is prioritized. Method 1 may then be applied to the remaining cells. This approach may be applied, for example, when a UE is configured with N cells located at N different sites (in other words, the N cells may belong to N different CGs).

Example (b): priority handling rules based on HARQ-ACK payload size

In TDD, HARQ-ACK feedback may be in response to multiple PDSCHs in a bundling window comprising multiple consecutive downlink subframes. This means that HARQ-ACK feedback associated with a larger bundling window size may contain more information. From this point of view, methods 3 and 4 are proposed as priority handling rules for the embodiments corresponding to the figures as disclosed herein.

The method 3 comprises the following steps: UL power allocation is prioritized for cells with larger maximum bundling window size. If the maximum bundling window size is the same for both cells, then conventional priority handling or priority handling as described in the previous embodiments may be applied. For TDD, the maximum bundling window size is determined by the size of the downlink association set. Table 2 shows the downlink association sets for different tdd ul-DL configurations [3 ]. Table 3 shows the maximum M for each tdd ul-DL configuration for FDD, and their corresponding priorities according to method 3. For example, the maximum bundling window size for a TDD cell with UL-DL configuration 1/2/3/4/5 is larger than the maximum bundling window size for an FDD cell and the maximum bundling window size for a TDD cell with UL-DL configuration 0/6. Thus, a TDD cell with UL-DL configuration 1/2/3/4/5 has a higher priority than either an FDD cell or a TDD cell with UL-DL configuration 0/6. Note that for method 3, the priority of UL power allocation for TDD cells over FDD cells is actually TDD UL-DL configuration dependent, as FDD cells may have a higher priority than TDD cells with UL-DL configuration 0/6. Method 3 may also be used to determine the priority of UL power allocation between two TDD cells with different UL-DL configurations.

Table 2: downlink association set index:

table 3: prioritization according to maximum bundling window size

The method 4 comprises the following steps: UL power allocation is prioritized for cells with larger bundling window sizes in a given subframe. For example, for TDD ul-DL configuration 1, HARQ-ACK transmissions in subframe 2 or subframe 7 may have higher priority in the TDD cell than in the FDD cell because they may have a larger bundling window size in the TDD cell.

Method 4A: the UL power allocation for HARQ-ACK signal transmission is prioritized according to the actual HARQ-ACK information payload sent by the UE. A UE that knows the actual number of HARQ-ACK information bits it transmits in each PUCCH (including HARQ-ACK information bits for PDCCHs not detected by the UE, as they may be determined by the value of the DAI field in the PDCCH detected by the UE in the following subframe [3 ]) may prioritize PUCCH power that includes a larger number of actual HARQ-ACK information bits in a given subframe. For example, for the same number of HARQ-ACK information bits per DL subframe, if the UE is configured with tdd UL-DL configuration 2 in the first cell and tdd UL-DL configuration 3 in the second cell, then if the second cell includes corresponding HARQ-ACK information for all subframes (subframes 7, 6, 11) in table 2, and for the first cell it includes corresponding HARQ-ACK information for only two subframes (such as subframes 8, 7), the UE may prioritize power allocation for PUCCH transmission in UL subframe 2 to the second cell.

The method 5 comprises the following steps: the network may configure the UE with a UL power allocation method (as in methods 1-4), e.g., by RRC.

Example (b): overall priority handling rules for FDD/TDDCA

The priority handling rules may also be based on a combination of frame structure type and physical channel type, or a combination of frame structure type and payload type. Some examples are provided below:

the method 6 comprises the following steps: for the priority order of UL power allocation, PUCCH on TDD cell > PUCCH on FDD cell > PUSCH on TDD cell > PUSCH on FDD cell (where a > B indicates a has higher priority than B). This method gives priority to PUCCH over PUSCH first and TDD over FDD second for UL power allocation, thereby ensuring reception reliability of PUCCH regardless of frame structure type.

The method 7 comprises the following steps: for the prioritization of UL power allocation, PUCCH on TDD cell > PUCCH on FDD cell > PUSCH with UCI on TDD cell > PUSCH with UCI on FDD cell > PUSCH without UCI on TDD cell > PUSCH without UCI on FDD cell. This method is similar to method 6 except that PUSCH with UCI takes precedence over PUSCH without UCI.

The method 8 comprises the following steps: for the priority order of UL power allocation, UCI subframe on TDD cell > UCI subframe on FDD cell > non-UCI subframe on TDD cell > non-UCI subframe on FDD cell. This method gives priority to UL transmission with UCI first over UL transmission without UCI and gives priority to TDD over FDD second, thereby ensuring protection of UCI transmission regardless of frame structure type.

The method 9: for the priority order of UL power allocation, HARQ-ACK transmission on TDD cell > HARQ-ACK transmission on FDD cell > PUCCH on TDD cell > PUCCH on FDD cell > PUSCH on TDD cell > PUSCH on FDD cell. This approach specifically prioritizes HARQ-ACK over other UCI types.

The method 10 comprises the following steps: for the priority order of UL power allocation, HARQ-ACK transmission on TDD cell > HARQ-ACK transmission on FDD cell > PUCCH on TDD cell > PUCCH on FDD cell > PUSCH with UCI on TDD cell > PUSCH with UCI on FDD cell > PUSCH without UCI on TDD cell > PUSCH without UCI on FDD cell. This method is similar to method 9 except that PUSCH with UCI takes precedence over PUSCH without UCI.

In all of the above methods, the rules disclosed in the previous embodiments may be used for UL power allocation when two cells are considered to have the same priority based on the above rules.

While the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes may be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use in a wireless communication network, comprising:

a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG 2);

the UE includes processing circuitry configured to:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information to a cell of CG1 in a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and to transmit Uplink Control Information (UCI) other than the acknowledgement information to a cell of CG2 in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH);

in response to the UE being power limited, preferentially performing power allocation on a PUSCH; and

and sending PUSCH to the cell of the CG 1.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein

{\hat{P}}_{P U C C H, j} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U C C H, j} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U C C H} (i))),

And is

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotEqual;</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>,</mo> </mrow> </math>

Where "i" is the subframe number, w (i) is the scale factor in subframe i,is the power in the linear scale and is,for maximum power that can be transmitted in the linear scale, "j" is the cell for CG1, "k" is the cell for CG2, and "c" is the serving cell with CG1 or CG2 for PUSCH transmission in subframe "i".

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to the PUSCH; and

the remaining power is allocated to the PUCCH.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to the PUSCH; and

zero power is allocated to PUCCH.

5. An apparatus for use in a wireless communication network, comprising:

the UE includes processing circuitry configured to:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information with a first payload to the cell of CG1 in a first Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and to transmit acknowledgement information with a second payload to the cell of CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH;

determining a larger of the first payload and the second payload in response to the UE being power limited;

preferentially performing power allocation on the first PUSCH or PUCCH or the second PUSCH or PUCCH transmitting a larger payload; and

and transmitting the prior PUSCH or PUCCH.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

allocating the remaining power to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

zero power is allocated to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

8. An apparatus for use in a wireless communication network, comprising:

the UE includes processing circuitry configured to:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit first Uplink Control Information (UCI) to a cell of CG1 in a first Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and to transmit second UCI to a cell of CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH;

determining whether the first UCI or the second UCI includes more UCI types in response to the UE being power limited, wherein the UCI types include acknowledgement information, channel quality information, and scheduling request information;

preferentially performing power allocation on the first PUSCH or PUCCH or the second PUSCH or PUCCH including more UCI types; and

and transmitting the prior PUSCH or PUCCH.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

allocating the remaining power to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

zero power is allocated to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

11. In a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), comprising:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information to a cell of CG1 in a PUSCH and to transmit Uplink Control Information (UCI) to a cell of CG1 in a PUCCH in addition to the acknowledgement information to the cell of CG 2;

and sending PUSCH to the cell of the CG 2.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein

{\hat{P}}_{P U C C H, k} (i) = \min ({\hat{P}}_{P U C C H, k} (i), ({\hat{P}}_{C M A X} (i) - {\hat{P}}_{P U S C H, j} (i))),

And is

<math> <mrow> <munder> <mo>Σ</mo> <mrow> <mi>c</mi> <mo>&NotEqual;</mo> <mi>j</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </munder> <mi>w</mi> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>·</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>C</mi> <mi>M</mi> <mi>A</mi> <mi>X</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>-</mo> <msub> <mover> <mi>P</mi> <mo>^</mo> </mover> <mrow> <mi>P</mi> <mi>U</mi> <mi>S</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mi>H</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>j</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>(</mo> <mi>i</mi> <mo>)</mo> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>,</mo> </mrow> </math>

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

allocating full power to the PUSCH; and

the remaining power is allocated to the PUCCH.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

allocating full power to the PUSCH; and

zero power is allocated to PUCCH.

15. In a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), comprising:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit acknowledgement information with a first payload to a cell of CG1 in a first PUSCH or PUCCH and to transmit acknowledgement information with a second payload to a cell of CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH;

determining a larger payload of the first and second payloads in response to the UE being power limited;

and transmitting the prior PUSCH or PUCCH.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

allocating the remaining power to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

zero power is allocated to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

18. In a User Equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a plurality of Carrier Aggregation (CA) groups having at least a first CA group (CG1) and a second CA group (CG2), a method for prioritizing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), comprising:

determining whether the UE is power limited, wherein the UE is scheduled to transmit first Uplink Control Information (UCI) to a cell of CG1 in a first PUSCH or PUCCH and to transmit second UCI to a cell of CG2 in a second PUSCH or PUCCH;

and transmitting the prior PUSCH or PUCCH.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

allocating the remaining power to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.

20. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

allocating full power to a prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH; and

zero power is allocated to the non-prioritized PUSCH or PUCCH.